


Escaping Samsara

by hikikomori_aria



Category: Naruto
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Family, Gen, Main Character does not know series, Mystery, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:41:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25100062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikikomori_aria/pseuds/hikikomori_aria
Summary: (Previously titled Arcana)(I guess reincarnation is not as rare as I thought...)I try to make the most of what I am given. Even the regrets and grudges that cling on after death. Still, between color-changing eyes and the ability to breathe fire, I think this life will be far more thrilling than the last.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 11





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_CRACK!_ The impact of a skull bashing against a rock echoed.

“Kimiko!”

That’s how my life began.

…

Confused?

Let me start over.

Once upon a time, there lived a family of five. A businesswoman and merchant mother brought home the bread and butter, and the stay at home father was tasked with preparing it. They had three special children, their eldest an aspiring lawyer and the next a mathematical genius. Both were seven and five respectfully. Then there was me.

We all lived in a large, two-story estate. It was a beautiful crimson red and decorated all kinds of dragon iconography. My favorite had always been the stone dragon that wound across our roof. Every chance I could get, I would climb up on top and balance on the uneven ridges that were the roof’s seeming and the dragon’s back. Today in particular, I decided it would be cool to balance at the dragon’s head at the front of the house.

Why?

…

I don’t know.

My father was busy cooking dinner, and my siblings were busy with their private tutors, so I knew I would not be caught. What I did not expect was my mother to come home early.

“Kimiko!” Even from the rooftop, I could hear her horrified shriek loud and clear. “Get down from there, right now!”

So, I did. By losing my balance and catapulting forward and off the roof.

“No!”

_CRACK!_

“Kimiko!”

I reached the ground headfirst and my short life flashed before my eyes in a whirling second. That was the end of the child known as Kimiko Tanji.

………

……

…

_I was speeding down the highway, on my way home after tending to one of my patients. She was terminally ill and had decided that she wanted to spend her last moments at home with her family._

_Her and her family were in hysterical hugs as I respectfully left, to give them the time and space they needed._

_(This job never felt easy.)_

_“No, mom. I’m sorry but I don’t think I’ll be able to make dad’s funeral.”_

_My mom had called me half a mile ago in tears; they decided to pull the plug on my dad. He had been brain dead for eight months after his stroke and my mom had finally given up hope._

_(Life never felt easy.)_

_“What? Why not?” My mom’s hysterics quickly turned to rage. “Your father passed, and you can’t even come for his funeral? You didn’t even come to visit him once since he was hospitalized!”_

_“I’m sorry mom. I’ve been busy with work.” I did not have time to travel to the other side of the country, unfortunately._

_My mom went on. “I’m starting to think you don’t care about us anymore! You know, we’ve supported you for all thirty-four years of your life, and you can’t even take one day off to come visit us? You know, before the incident, your father asked me every day ‘when is Lauren coming to visit?’ He missed you so much, Lauren.” She began to cry in desperation. “Please come to the funeral. Please. Please…”_

_CRASH!_

_“Lauren!” My mom cried on alarm._

…

……

………

My eyes fluttered open.

“Kimi!” My senses were immediately overwhelmed by a bowling hug from my chubby armed elder sister.

“Be careful, Kougyoku. Mama said we have to.” The droll of my elder brother came from behind my her. Still, he made no move to really pry her off.

“Shigeru thought you died!” Kougyoku pulled away, her eyes streaming with tears. “Mama said you fell off the house and hit your head. They even took you to the hospital!”

They had. The smell of disinfectant was uncannily familiar, as was the intense glaring white of the ceiling, linens, and walls. I sat in all of it comfortably. Too comfortably.

_I feel like I am forgetting something._

A stabbing pain erupted in my head.

“Shigeru and I read books about concussions today.” Kougyoku went on. “And I got scared. Your brain could be permanently damaged. You could have been in a coma. You could have died!” She sniffled out the last part, working herself up into tears.

“I heard Mama and Papa talking after they brought you here.” Shigeru said. “They said that your eyes turned red.”

_I do not remember that…_

“And I said that’s dumb!” Kougyoku glared at Shigeru. “She has black eyes like me and Papa. You and Mama have red eyes.”

“But Papa said that your eyes could change color when you get bigger.”

“But her eyes are black now!”

“Maybe…” Shigeru sounded unsure. “She has super special eyes. Isn’t Papa from Konoha?”

“No way!” Kougyoku’s tears ceased and she jumped up in excitement. “Do you think he could have been an Uchiha?”

_Konoha? Uchiha? I have no idea what these two are saying. But…_

The stabbing sensation pulsated throughout my entire head now. I winced and rubbed my head vigorously.

“Kimiko…” My brother suddenly gripped my hand, stopping my actions. “You shouldn’t do that. It could make your injury worse.”

The look in his eyes was too much for me to bare.

“Big bro, you have snot hanging from your nose.”

Shigeru cursed and let go of my hand as he wiped his nose violently. Kougyoku burst out in giggles.

“It’s not funny!” Shigeru’s voice cracked.

“He’s not wrong.” Kougyoku could barely contain her laughter. “That was totally bland Kimi. Not your usual style. Usually, you would be like…” Her face grew an offensively and comically huge grin, and her voice rose a few octaves. “I don’t know. Booger face!” She smacked Shigeru’s cheeks lightly and laughed.

“It’s not funny!”

_SLAM!_

_Busted._

…

Is what I thought until I realized that a stranger had entered.

“I told you to leave her be!” Mother’s voice yelled from the hallway and approached in quick thuds as she rushed. “Fugaku!”

This man, Fugaku, stared at the three of us with piercing coal black eyes. His angry scowl shut up any retort about hospital rules Shigeru had been thinking to arm himself with. He glared at Kougyoku, who was trembling and looked ready to cry again. Finally, his eyes focused on me. They turned red.

I shivered. Red eyes. Red where black once used to be. Inside his eyes, three black shapes spun erratically in a clockwise motion, almost too fast for my own eyes to keep up. I felt dizzy looking into them.

“It seems you are correct.” The man’s eyes faded and became black again. “The chakra pathways in her eyes are marginally more developed. Among other things, I’ve no doubt this child has unlocked the gift of my clan.”

Mother stood behind the man, her entire frame shaking with rage. “Get. Out.”

The man glared at my mother reproachfully. “You know what this means Tsubone. I’ll be expecting Kimiko at least, within the coming month.”

He roughly pushed passed her and left as quickly as he entered.

“Mama…” Kougyoku was so close to tears. “Who was that?”

“No one, sweetie.” Mother’s face was clouded.

“Mama…” Shigeru sounded uncertain. “That was…an Uchiha? Are we Uchiha?”

“No.” Her face turned a bit red. “You are all Tanji. You are my children.”

“But mom…” My head was pounding try to process everything. “He said I…I unlocked the ‘gift’? Is that the sharingan?”

Mother’s face paled. She nodded slowly.

“Does this mean…that I have to leave everyone?”

Mother’s face twisted in pain, like she had been struck. Before I knew it, she rushed to my side and pulled me into a squeezing embrace.

“Please forgive me, Kimiko.” Mother’s voice was shaking. “No. You won’t be leaving…

“But we will be moving to Konoha.”

Her last words were uttered with the finality of a death sentence.

………

……

…

_“What are you watching?”_

_“Oh, it’s so good Lauren! It’s this thing called an anime. My friend watches them all the time and she recommended this one called Naruto to me.”_

_“Cool…”_

_“You want to watch it with me?”_

_“No, I think I’ll just take a nap. Night shift has got me pretty down lately…”_

_“That’s too bad… well, maybe you can watch it at home! You should! All I ever hear you doing is eating, sleeping, and working.”_

_“I’ll think about it…” I lied behind a drawn-out yawn._

_Yeah right, no way was I going to watch a stupid cartoon._


	2. Chapter 2

I stood within a circle of staring, piercing black eyes. Black, but with the potential to burst into the same blood red that mine could. As usual, I did my best to stop the shivering nervousness I felt every time I entered this field. Instead, I focused all my attention on the boy who stood at the other end of the circle. With straight backs, we signed our consent to an honorable fight.

“Begin!”

The boy shot out first with a low dive. He swung his foot out in a wide kick.

_A feint._

I launched a direct kick forward, aimed at his open chest. He redirected the momentum into a roll that transitioned into a cartwheel away. His hands swept through a multitude of hand signs.

_A trick. There is no sign I recognize from Aunt Mikoto._

I did not hesitate as I swept forward. The boy cursed and readied himself into a defensive formation.

The battle ended swiftly afterward…

“Winner: Kimiko!” Our teacher shouted the verdict after I had pinned the boy into a headlock and grapple that he struggled fiercely to escape but miserably failed to.

“You okay Shisui?” I released him immediately after the call.

My opponent, a curly-maned boy a year younger than me, grinned sheepishly. “You got me again Kimiko. I’ll beat you next time though.”

“I’m sure you will one day.” I smiled back at him brightly.

“Next!” The teacher shouted louder than he needed to. Shisui jumped and apologized. I rose slowly and grinned the same bright grin to the teacher and the rest of the group.

They all scowled at me in return.

I returned to my wide space on the tatami mat floor, having three whole rectangles to myself to lounge on. The kids closest to me glared. Shisui returned to a crowded rectangle shared between himself and two others. They murmured soft encouragement.

“Don’t worry,” I heard one of them say, “you’ll beat that outsider someday soon.”

Shisui frowned in response. I kept my relaxed grin through it all. Per the usual.

………

……

…

_We first arrived to the Leaf village two years ago. I remember being distinctly unimpressed with the rural set up and dome shaped buildings. It was all so different from the towering pagodas and bustling streets that made up home in the capital. I remember criticizing how green and leafy it was aloud. Leaves always seem to find a way to fly into my face. Shigeru and Kougyoku agreed and said they had the same problem._

_Mother and Father had ordered a new house to be constructed for us at the edge of town, and it was supposed to be constructed identically to our last home. Except they made the house’s railings the wrong shade of red and the doors seemed to jam up when you tried to slide them open. I was banned from going on top it, but just looking at the copied dragon I could tell that its face was lopsided, and the spines of its back were a bit too pointed. I decided it was not even worth trying to sneak up there._

_“Not the right red.” I remember Father agreeing with me._

_“And the shingles on the roof look like they could fall off any moment.” Mother added afterwards._

_………_

_“No.”_

_Shigeru, Kougyoku, and I jumped as Father snapped a biting reply. We had settled by a wall that lay between Mother and Father’s room and an empty spare room that was newly added on. Just before, we had been wondering what it could be for…_

_“Don’t be foolish brother.” A woman’s voice advised._

_“What you two are asking is unreasonable.” Mother angrily added. “Kimiko has no prior training. More than that, she is a Tanji. Not an Uchiha, therefore not your vassal.”_

_“What’s a vassal?” I had asked but was quickly met with hissing ‘shhs!’_

_"Her lack of training can be easily rectified.” A man said. “And all your children are Uchiha by blood, as is that the name of their father._

_"We allowed the change to be made only because you two insisted on moving to the capital. It was for the safety of you all that you not be identified with our clan. But circumstances have changed. Your child has awakened the sharingan, and without any sort of training, you might as well rip her eyes out with your very own hands. Many people would do anything to reveal our clan’s secrets. They would not spare even a child._

_“That child needs training. That is the only way anyone with our eyes can live. As the clan head, you cannot deny my order Yasu.”_

………

……

…

A servant caught us listening in shortly after, but the results of that meeting were quickly learned.

I began my training only a week later in a dojo across town. It was an Uchiha only dojo. It was at the gates that I met the man and woman Mother and Father had spoken with; Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, the head pair of the Uchiha clan.

A year later, we also learned what the spare room we had been sitting in was for when mother’s belly swelled to the size of a watermelon and she gave birth to my younger brother Fujio.

Two whole years had passed since moving to the Leaf village and I was now five years old, the age that children were able to enter the ninja academy, to become ninjas. Or at least, that is what Shigeru said.

“But there is no way Mama and Papa would let you become a ninja!” Shigeru tried to reassure me. “Especially not when tensions with the Earth country are rising. My tutor has been saying a war could break out any day now.”

I do not know anything about this “Earth country” nor these “rising tensions” but…

“I want to be a ninja.” I said over dinner one night.

Father nearly choked on the tea he had been drinking and Mother dropped the papers she was reading with a blank expression. Shigeru looked at me like my head was screwed on backwards, and Kougyoku held her hands in front of her face with eager trepidation. Fujio just cooed and played with his gruel.

“Kimiko,” Mother spoke slowly, “do you know what it is you are asking?”

“I do! Well kind of. My friend,” Shisui, the closest person I have to a friend in this village, “was telling me about it and I think it sounds cool. The medical ninjas especially. Plus, I am really good at it. I haven’t loss to anyone for a long time now. I think I would be really good at it.”

“Kimiko,” Father was stern, “being a ninja is more than just sparring with others. Ninja are expected…to hurt people very badly. Your mother and I do not want you to need to do that. Nor do we want you to get hurt.”

“But! What if I became a medical ninja? They don’t hurt anybody.”

“No, Kimiko.”

My bottom lips trembled, and my face heated up.

“Kimiko,” Mother’s tone was gentle as she leaned over across the table to look me in the eye. “I know you want to prove that you are a big girl but leave this to us, please? I don’t know what you have been hearing, but please trust your Mama and Papa. Being a ninja is actually very scary and…well, many ninja die doing it.

“Why don’t you and your siblings go play now. Mama and Papa need to discuss something.”

………

“I was shot down…” _They talked down to me too._

_Well, I am five. But they would never talk to Shigeru and Kougyoku like that…_

We had all settled in Fujio’s room since he could only play with small toys and no one wanted him getting into their things. Kougyoku was poring over the Calculus sheet assigned to her by her latest tutor. Shigeru was reading a large history book about the Leaf village. I miserably lay on my back and absently shook a rattle as Fujio crawled to lay on my stomach.

“Seriously,” Kougyoku sighed. “It would have been cool if you could convince them though. I bet you would have been really good at it, too.”

“Don’t encourage her, Kou!” Shigeru, trying to be cool like usual, started to lecture us down his nose. “What were you thinking? You know how Mama and Papa feel about ninjas! Why would you even think of trying to ask?”

“Why?”

Shigeru and Kougyoku looked at me expectantly. Shigeru, he who knew the laws of the world like the back of his hand and read old classics like picture books. Kougyoku, seven-years-old and able to understand and exceed in everything math and science, even more so than I did in all thirty years of my past life. Then there’s me…

“Secret.” I answered and then directed all my attention to pleasing the rolling Fujio who had become bored of us.

_I will be a ninja, no matter what. Even if it means going against Mother and Father’s wishes._

**Author's Note:**

> Have you heard little kids talk? Because I have, and they sound like that. Sometimes.
> 
> Anyway, please let me know what you think. It's only the first chapter, but I would be interested in knowing if the beginning is one that drew you in. Did it catch your interest? Or was it confusing or just boring?


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